Joyce wants to practice law again

June 04--ERIE, Pa. -- Former state Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce lost his judgeship, freedom, pension, home and license to practice law after being convicted in federal court of defrauding two insurers of $440,000.

Three years free from federal prison and working as a paralegal at $50,000 a year, Joyce is now hoping for a return from professional exile.

Joyce, 66, of Erie, has filed a petition with the state Supreme Court's Disciplinary Board for lawyers seeking reinstatement to the practice of law.

In what may be his first public expression of remorse for the conduct at the heart of his 2008 conviction on felony counts of mail fraud and money laundering, Joyce apologizes in the petition for what he called "a grievous mistake in a personal matter."

"I accept full responsibility for the actions that lead to my criminal convictions," he wrote.

"I am patently aware that I brought embarrassment and discredit, not only upon myself, but upon the judiciary and legal profession that I have loved my entire professional life."

In his petition, Joyce, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who completed a tour of duty in Vietnam, asks the court to consider other aspects of his life, including his military service and academic and legal accomplishments.

To be reinstated, however, Joyce will have to overcome the objections of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which opposes Joyce's return to the practice of law.

"He was a sitting judge at the time when he committed his crimes. In making false statements to the insurance companies, he used his judicial letterhead in his correspondence and repeatedly referred to himself as a judge," Samuel Napoli, disciplinary counsel, wrote in a two-page response to Joyce's petition.

"Mr. Joyce's conviction involved his use of his official position to obtain property not due him," Napoli said.

Napoli said the Office of Disciplinary Counsel believes Joyce's conduct was "so serious as to preclude his ever being reinstated to the practice of law in Pennsylvania."

Alternately, Napoli said, the office believes that not enough time has passed to reinstate Joyce.

A public hearing on Joyce's petition is scheduled June 24 in Pittsburgh. The Disciplinary Board in a legal advertisement published Wednesday in the Erie Times-News said that anyone wishing to be heard on the matter must contact the board in Pittsburgh by June 12.

Joyce referred questions relating to the petition to his lawyer, Elliot Segel, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Joyce served on Superior Court from 1998 to 2007 and sat on the Erie County bench from 1985 to 1997. He was elected to both posts.

In 2007, a federal grand jury seated in Erie indicted him on two counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering relating to settlements Joyce obtained in 2002 from a low-speed, rear-end collision on Aug. 10, 2001, in Millcreek Township. Erie Insurance Group paid Joyce $390,000 and State Farm paid him $50,000 after he claimed debilitating injuries in the collision at West 12th Street and Asbury Road.

At trial, Joyce maintained the crash exacerbated pre-existing injuries.

Jurors sided with the U.S. Attorney's Office, which charged that Joyce lied, exaggerated or omitted key information when he filed the claims.

Central to the jurors' verdict was the government's evidence that Joyce golfed, scuba-dived in the Caribbean and learned to fly at the same time he told insurers he could not steadily hold a cup of coffee.

Joyce did not testify. He maintained his innocence and unsuccessfully appealed his conviction and 46-month prison sentence.

As a result of his conviction, he forfeited his $81,803 annual judicial pension and his Millcreek Township house. The state Supreme Court in 2012 disbarred him.

In his petition for reinstatement, Joyce reported that he has been making payments toward the $440,800 judgment entered against him following his conviction. He said he now owes $360,000.

He expressed gratitude for the support he has received from residents and colleagues since his return to Erie.

"I am truly humbled by the level of support and respect that I have retained and which I guard with an enhanced vigilance," he said.

LISA THOMPSON can be reached at 870-1802 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNthompson.

___

(c)2015 the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.)

Visit the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.) at www.GoErie.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.